China

CHINA (AP) --- The watch towers, double-locked doors and video surveillance in the Chinese camps are there “to prevent escapes.” Uighurs and other minorities held inside are scored on how well they speak the dominant Mandarin language and follow strict rules on everything down to bathing and using the toilet, scores that determine if they can leave.

“Manner education” is mandatory, but “vocational skills improvement” is offered only after a year in the camps.

KUNMING, China, Nov 24 (NNN-XINHUA) – Chinese companies, signed contracts worth 1.3 billion yuan (about 184 million U.S. dollars) to purchase goods, mainly agricultural products, from their Laos counterparts.

The deals were signed as the 2019 Sino-Laos Investment Fair concluded Friday, in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.

HONG KONG (AP) — Long lines formed outside Hong Kong polling stations Sunday in elections that have become a barometer of public support for anti-government protests now in their sixth month.

The voting for 452 seats in the city’s 18 district councils has taken on symbolic importance in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. A strong showing by the opposition would show that the public still supports the pro-democracy movement, even as the protests have become increasingly violent.

BEIJING, November 23. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula during their meeting in the Japanese city of Nagoya, China’s Foreign Ministry reported on Saturday.

"The sides discussed in detail the situation on the Korean Peninsula, exchanging their opinions on regional and global issues of mutual interest," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

"Our countries should take even greater efforts for the sake of ensuring global peace and stability," Wang Yi stressed.

BEIJING (Reuters) - German chemical giant BASF has begun construction of its $10-billion integrated petrochemicals project in China’s southern province of Guangdong, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

The project based in the city of Zhanjiang will be China’s first wholly foreign-owned chemicals complex, for which a framework agreement was signed in January.

It will primarily produce engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and some petrochemical products widely used in automotive, electronics and new energy vehicles industries.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong university campus under siege for more than a week was a deserted wasteland on Saturday, with a handful of protesters holed up in hidden refuges across the trashed grounds, as the city’s focus turned to local elections.

The siege neared its end as some protesters at Polytechnic University on the Kowloon peninsula desperately sought a way out and others vowed not to surrender, days after some of the worst violence since anti-government demonstrations escalated in June.

BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva here Friday and pledged further opening up of the country's financial sector.

Li said China and leaders of major international economic institutions have sent strong signals of jointly safeguarding multilateralism and free trade, tackling economic downward pressure and enhancing international cooperation during a roundtable dialogue held Thursday.

22 November 2019; AFP: China wants to "take over" Australia's political system with an "insidious" and systematic campaign of espionage and influence-peddling, Canberra's ex-spymaster warned in an interview published Friday.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s central bank launched on Friday a fresh crackdown on cryptocurrency trading in the financial hub of Shanghai, after Beijing’s promotion of blockchain technology reignited interest in virtual currencies.

The move came a day after financial regulators in Shenzhen launched a similar campaign, and as the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is preparing to launch its own digital currency.

Beijing, Nov 22 (AFP) China on Friday accused the US of "provocative" conduct after two US warships sailed near islands claimed by Beijing this week, adding to tensions between the global powers.

The US Navy regularly conducts "freedom of navigation operations" in the disputed South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have competing claims.